Frost + Sullivan Conducts Study on Asia Pacific Ultracapacitor Market

Frost & Sullivan, a growth partnership company, has conducted an analysis named Strategic Assessment of the Asia Pacific Ultracapacitor Market and revealed that in 2009, the market gained revenues of about US$44.9 million, and in 2020, it is expected to attain US$810.9 million. This study is a part of the Power Supplies and Batteries Growth Partnership Services program.

According to this research, ultracapacitors are anticipated to be used in a wide range of applications in industries that include transportation and energy, which are expected to show considerable growth in future. Demand will arise from sources such as uninterruptible power systems (UPS), rubber-tired gantry cranes, and construction equipment.

The study explains that the key hurdle that hinders huge-volume commercialization of ultracapacitors is its manufacturing cost. With considerable enhancements in R&D, the production expenses of ultracapacitors are anticipated to reduce in future hence increasing its acceptance in the market. Presently, customers are unaware of the advantages of ultracapacitors. However, once their benefits are known to all, rapid growth is assured.

An important technical disadvantage of super capacitors is its low energy density. Even though the effect of this disadvantage is minimal, ultracapacitors are used only in certain specific applications and not in all applications where batteries are used. In future, if there is an improvement in energy density, there are possibilities for ultracapacitors to be used in several other applications presently using batteries. In spite of the R&D going on for the past several years, solutions that directly meet economical and technical requirements of the market have not yet been developed.

Graphene oxide membranes have been receiving attention for their extremely powerful separation abilities and the ease at which it can be modified, allowing for membrane permittivity to be fine-tuned. These membranes show the potential to be used for water purification, ‘green’ gas purification and greenhouse gas capture.